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Robert Mueller Let A Prolific Child Porn Collector With A Famous Dad Walk Free
- DANGEROUS
dangerous.com
Monday, August 20 2018
According to court documents obtained exclusively by this magazine, in 1998 as U.S. Attorney Robert Mueller let one of the most prolific child porn collectors of all time walk free with a $200 fine. Now, people are asking why, and whether it had anything to do with the offender’s famous father, legendary celebrity science fiction author Isaac Asimov.
David Asimov, son of celebrity science fiction author Isaac Asimov, amassed one of the most gigantic child porn libraries in American history, and the largest ever found in California. But Robert Mueller, as the U.S. Attorney responsible for prosecuting the case, let Asimov walk free. Santa Rosa police arrested the younger Asimov in 1998 after discovering the gigantic collection of child pornography.
An anonymous pro-Trump lawyer on Twitter acquired and summarized the court documents relating to Asimov’s case last week, and authorized for them to be shared with us via a third party. Though the documents have been quoted and summarized on social media previously, this is the first time they have been provided to a news organization in their original format.
Previous reporting on the subject lacked access to this information, which is included in its entirety in this report for DANGEROUS readers. Below, we reproduce the original indictment, plea deals and judgments from the case. Most striking is the sheer volume of underage material. Deputy district attorney Gary Medvigy described the haul to journalists at the time as, “A huge quantity. Believe me, there aren’t enough people or enough man-hours to look at it all. The whole house was full of VCRs, commercial tapes, homemade tapes and sophisticated equipment for taping and duplicating.”
Robert Mueller’s name appears on the agreement in his capacity as U.S. Attorney, as well as on the original indictment. He would have been responsible for signing off on the deal, which is remarkably favorable given the quantity of material discovered in the reclusive Asimov’s Sonoma County home. Since summaries of these court documents appeared online, people have been asking just how responsible Mueller was for the terms.
Despite possessing thousands of images of underage children, David Asimov pled guilty to just two counts of possessing illegal images and received no jail time. Instead, he was given probation, told not to drink alcohol, and asked to pay a $200 fine.
 David Asimov’s punishment for amassing a vast child porn library.
In addition to videotapes and floppy disks, Asimov was found in possession of a Danish magazine called Lollipops 2, a German magazine called Torrid Teens and a publication by Potomic News Co., Washington, D.C., titled The Boys of Times Square, each of which contained images of child pornography.
The unemployed Asimov’s crimes were discovered when a computer repair technician noticed the images on a machine brought in for repair. Asimov’s lawyer Chris Andrian insisted Asimov was “not a predator,” describing him as “an acutely intelligent guy who wouldn’t hurt a flea. . . . He hasn’t got the social grace or skills of one who would try subtly to lure a kid into his house.”
Journalists reporting on the case in 1998 describe Asimov as living “deep in the gargantuan shadow of his late father,” in an apparent attempt to excuse or explain the younger Asimov’s behavior. His lawyer argued that Asimov was in a “significantly impaired mental state” at the time of the offenses, asking that a recommended sentence of two and a half years be set aside because Asimov was a suicide risk. While court documents refer to “drugs and other intoxicants,” Asimov was asked to refrain only from alcohol in the terms of his sentence. |
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